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What We Say 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
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Mission Codename: The Perfect Pairing
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Infiltrate Jason-Stephens Winery, on California’s Central Coast, and retrieve their fabled 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Jason-Stephens Winery
Wine Subject: 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – Santa Clara Valley
Winemaker: Jason Goelz
Backgrounder: The Santa Clara Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located along the western boundary of the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountain range. While there are dozens of famous wineries, here, the amount of acreage under vine has gradually dwindled as Silicon Valley’s own footprint has grown. Wines from this unique region are some of the most sought-after Central Coast wines.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Deep and foreboding, with dark garnet hues that grow darker through the clear, deep core of the wine. At the edge of the glass, the wine shows soft ruby hues. When spun, fat, wine-stained tears from low on the glass wall. they take a long time to emerge, and a longer time to move downward.
Smell – Lush and dark, with a rush of black cherry and blackberry that just leap from the glass. As the wine opens up (spin well for best results), it reveals dark raspberry, sweet tobacco leaf, fennel, cassis, cocoa dust, pepper and a hint of cedar.
Feel – Initially soft, this wine becomes almost instantly grippy, coating the palate with a plush chewiness that spreads from the edges of the palate, inward. A spreading dryness follows, accompanied by soft minerals and a hint of bright pepper.
Taste – Black cherry juice, blackberry and black plum present themselves at the tip of the tongue. As the wine settles onto the palate, tobacco, smoky blueberry, lightly burnt Mission fig, dried violets and sweet cedar follow.
Finish – Medium long with sweet dark fruit that gradually yields to tart fruit – and then dried black flowers, smoky fig and flinty minerals, with a hint of black pepper at the tail end.
Conclusion – The 2007 Jason Stephens Winery Estate Cabernet Sauvignon really took our tasting panel by surprise. It is an approachable, easy to drink wine with Classic Cabernet flavors. Intriguingly, it has a character uniquely its own. Where we have been so used to giant Napa Cabernet and some lighter-hearted Sonoma County examples, this wine expresses a feel and a melange of flavors that are likely due to the unique terroir of the Santa Clara Valley. While this bears further investigation (look for more interesting wines from the region, later this year) we encourage you to explore right along side us, by trying this tasty, slightly austere wine
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of the Jason Stephens Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Jason-Stephens Winery (OLD)
Awards & Accolades:
90 Points / Gold Medal / Exceptional – Beverage Tasting Institute
Silver Medal – 2012 San Francisco Chronical Wine Competition
About This Wine:
Deep garnet color. Dense compacted aromas of dried berries and cherries, peat, eucalyptus, chocolate nut fudge and black olive follow through on a rich entry to a fruity-yet-dry medium-full body with great depth and layers of mint and spice. Finishes with a long, vibrant and slightly meaty and olive-like fade with polished, powdery tannins. Tremendous character and style.
Jason-Stephens’ Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is the definitive expression of a balanced Cabernet Sauvignon. Our mission is to handcraft a consistent expression of our distinctive terroir, through a wine that is elegant, complex, and balanced. Our Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is one that is balanced with fruit, structure, and acidity with a soft texture by using the best winemaking practices and equipment.
About The Winery:
The Jason-Stephens Story
Our wine mission is simple: to produce the best wines from select vineyards with unique attributes. We’d like to invite you to learn more about our vineyards, our people, and our approach of crafting complex, flavorful and balanced wines. We are devoted to our customers and take tremendous pride in delivering consistent quality and value in our distinctive wines.
With each vintage we produce the best quality wines available, while maintaining our commitment to value. At Jason-Stephens we believe in more than just making quality wine. We believe in using our wine to help create an experience, an experience that will leave you with memories to last a lifetime.
History: Persistence pays off. As a bootstrapped, grass-roots winery, Jason-Stephens has quickly grown into an up and coming label, and one of the best kept secrets in Northern California. Relying on the quality of the wine and investment in sweat equity, Jason-Stephens has built a foundation of great wines and a unique personality. Our founders’ passion for soft, elegant, and complex wines drives a relentless pursuit to improve our wines, vintage after vintage. Jason-Stephens believes in customer satisfaction, therefore our goal is to create complex wines that will satisfy all palates.
Jason Goelz had a dream of entering into the wine industry with great wines after his education at Cal Poly SLO and starting out as a small lot winemaker. After an exhaustive search for a vineyard with meticulous management and premium grapes, he found and started working with Dorcich Vineyards as winemaker, cellar manager, and sales manager. Initially, he consulted with Stephen Dorcich in managing the wines and sales of the wines to other high-end wineries in Napa and throughout California. The consulting arrangement established a strong vineyard manager/ winemaker relationship that is essential in crafting exceptional wines for Jason-Stephens.
Like an orchestra, Jason-Stephens’ team works in harmony to create the best wines. The vineyard manager knows exactly what to do in the field to make the grapes perfect at harvest based on the desires of the winemaker. After harvest, the winemaker’s role is to care for the grapes as they mature into superb wines, just as a parent guiding a child into adulthood, the winemaker brings these hand-crafted wines to life. Today, the wines from this vineyard express unique wine qualities found in premium wines.
The rest of Jason-Stephens’ success is attributed to family, friends, and most of all, our patrons. Without our discerning fans that enjoy our fine wines, Jason-Stephens would be nothing more than another California winery. Our wines are enjoyable now and for years to come. Our goal is to hand-craft top quality wines for you to share with friends and family.
Technical Analysis:
Varietal Composition: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 2% Syrah
Residual Sugar: .58g/l
Alcohol: 14.5%
Cases Produced: 1,900
pH: 3.58
Total Acidity: 0.66
Aging: 32 months – French and American Oak
Bottling Date: August 2010
